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MISS 
HECK'S 

THANKSGIVING 
PARTY 

OR 

TOPSY 

UP TO DATE 




(Copyrighted by the Author.) 






.un 



To the Woman s Club 
of Evanston : 

Devoted, as it is, to "mutual help- 
fulness in all the affairs of life," and 
to a union of effort toward at- 
taining the "higher development of 
humanity," this little brochure is 
dedicated by one of its members. 



MISS HECK'S 

THANKSGIVING 

PARTY; 

or, TOPSY 

UP TO DATE 



IDA HAMILTON MUNSELL, B. M. 



Any person with but half an 
eye could recognize at a glance 
the extraordinary character of 
Miss Myra Heck ! And further- 
more, if novelists did not show 
such decided preferences for 
white-skinned heroines, Miss Heck 
would long since have won the 
world-wide renown which of right 
belongs to her. But, unfortu- 
nately, Miss Myra was born of 
black parents away down in the 
sunny southland, and the dark hue 
of skin and wisps of woolly curls 
which are characteristic of the 
negro race have descended upon 
their offspring. This is the more 
unfortunate in that this daughter 
— now a young woman of twenty- 
four or thereabouts — is possessed 
of really uncommon talents, while 
her brain teems at all times with 



schemes worthy of a French dip- 
lomat; and were she fair and 
dainty as to exterior, she would 
not now be occupying the situa- 
tion of "maid of all work" in the 
little town where we first discov- 
ered her. 

Yet, notwithstanding the acci- 
dental disadvantages which ham- 
per this bright maid, she has 
managed to achieve at least local 
distinction in more directions than 
one. Few families are there in 
Rexville who have not at one time 
or another availed themselves of 
Miss Heck's services. Servants 
of any degree of ability are ex- 
ceedingly rare in Rexville, so that 
Miss Myra could easily reign as 
the bright particular star in the 
domestic firmament of the uni- 
verse, were it not for certain pecu- 
liarities of temperament, added to 
an ugly habit of prevaricating, 
together with a too confident dis- 
position to presume upon her mis- 
tress' willingness to permit her 
cook to parade the streets dressed 
in silks and satins from her own 
wardrobe. 

But, because of this scarcity of 
help, and in view of the general 
ability possessed by Miss Heck, 
her employers have shut their eyes 
to such peccadillos as these so 



lap to 2)ate. 

often, that by dint of much ex- 
perience the young woman has at 
last possessed herself of such 
power that she rules the mistresses 
of Rexville with a rod of iron. 
She has indeed reached the con- 
clusion that although one family 
may decide to forego the benefit 
of her assistance in their house- 
hold because of some little peculi- 
arity of hers, nevertheless she is 
sure of a position with some other 
lady on the street before twenty- 
four hours shall have sped. So 
she oscillates back and forth — like 
a pendulum — from one kitchen to 
another throughout the length and 
breadth of Rexville. Her period 
of tarrying varies according to the 
blindness of her mistress and the 
condition of the master's pocket- 
book, for this latter article shortly 
feels the drain of Miss Myra's ex- 
travagant habits, and sooner or 
later collapses into empty space. 
Then self-defense demands that 
the sable goddess of the cuisine 
depart to new fields and pastures 
green until such time as self-denial 
and rigid economy shall have once 
more filled the purse, and brought 
a return of the prosperity which 
had been temporarily suspended. 
Thus you see that even though 
Miss Heck has not attained the 



national reputation of which she is 
worthy, she has at least in one 
small corner of the earth won for 
herself glory and renown. In this 
little town, if nowhere else, her 
name is a household word. It is 
difficult to draw a correct word 
picture of this wily maid; her 
talents, too, are so numerous and 
varied that one hesitates which to 
portray first. Possibly, we can 
convey a better idea of her per- 
sonality if we describe one par- 
ticular scheme of hers and its out- 
come. 



It was the day before Thanks- 
giving, in the year of our Lord 
1892, and Miss Myra sat upon the 
floor of her mother's dingy little 
parlor deeply absorbed in thought. 
She was working just at present 
for banker Holmes' people, but 
fortunately for herself the entire 
family had gone east a week be- 
fore Thanksgiving in order to eat 
turkey in good old-fashioned com- 
fort with relatives not seen for 
months. This left Miss Myra free 
to enjoy life to the uttermost. To 
be sure she carried the key to the 
big house in her pocket, and daily 
went through the pretense of airing 
and then dusting the premises. She 



XDlp to Date. 

also had access to the cold storage 
room, which privilege augmented 
greatly the bill of fare at her 
father's shanty. Her parents had 
since earliest childhood greatly 
admired their offspring, and this 
ability of hers to vary the supply 
and quality of their edibles on oc- 
casion did not at all diminish this 
fond regard. 

Miss Myra had enjoyed her 
freedom now for seven whole 
days; she had walked the streets 
at morning, noon and night, 
dressed always in her best, and 
this best was no mean style, for 
the young woman was possessed 
of a figure neat and trim, while 
every cent of her earnings went 
into clothes with which she might 
easily outshine the rest of the 
working girl population of Rex- 
ville. She had, during these past 
seven days, neither baked nor 
swept, set the table, or made the 
beds for anybody. In fact, she 
had lived an existence of unal- 
loyed pleasure which comes from 
that idleness so dear to the Afri- 
can heart. But now she owned — 
to herself, at least — that she was 
tired. The dull monotony wearied 
her. 

What could she do to create a 
new sensation? she asked herself, 



while she sat with her feet crossed 
under her, tailor-fashion, upon the 
bare floor. One dingy brown 
hand, with its hue of pallor on the 
palm, moved restlessly to and fro 
through her crown of wool and 
roughened its carefully plastered 
locks until they stood out in gro- 
tesque tangles all about her head. 
At length a bright idea occurred 
to her; she laughed aloud; a merry 
chime of bells could not make 
sweeter music. ^'I'se hit it this 
time, sure, mammy," she called 
out to the woman who was bend- 
ing over a steaming tub in an outer 
room. Her mother wiped her 
hands hastily upon the skirt of 
her gown and went into the par- 
lor where Miss Myra yet sat upon 
the floor. 

"Hit what, chile? What mis- 
chief has you got in dat hed of 
yourn dis time, I'd like to know?" 
she asked eagerly, as she threw 
her ponderous body into a chair. 
"Grand scheme, mammy; the best 
I'se had yet," announced the girl, 
as she slowly untangled her feet 
from beneath her dress and rose 
from the floor. 

"It's bound ter be a first rate 
one den shuah enough, Myrie," the 
woman said admiringly, as she 
watched the supple form stretch 



•dp to 2)ate» 

itself to relieve the cramped feel- 
ing of the limbs caused by her 
long continued crouching attitude. 

"What you goin' do dis time, 
chile? tell your poor old mammy," 
the negress went on, seeing the 
young woman made no haste to 
unbosom herself of her scheme. 

"Wall, then, old lady, if you 
must know, here goes! but don't 
let it take your bref away," the 
girl replied with provoking de- 
liberateness, and she crossed the 
room to where a small cracked 
mirror hung upon the wall; here 
she proceeded to re-arrange her 
hair, holding the pins in her 
mouth as she did so, tantalizing 
yet further the anxious mother. 
"The longer you wait, the better 
it'll seem, mammy," Miss Myra 
said after a few moments. The 
old lady made no reply; she al- 
ways let "Myrie" have her own way ; 
she had found by experience that 
it was not easy to do otherwise. 
At length even the critical taste of 
Miss Myra seemed satisfied with 
the vision she beheld in the little 
glass, for she turned away with a 
contented sigh, as she did so ex- 
claiming, "I'se gwine to give a 
Thanksgiving party here, mammy, 
tomorrer night! And it'll be a 
swell affair, tew, take my wurd for 



it!" Then she put on her coat and 
hat, blew a kiss from the ends of 
her fingers toward the old negress 
yet sitting stupid with amaze- 
ment in the rickety rocking-chair, 
and with another ringing, happy 
laugh went out into the storm. The 
sky was lead-colored, the wind 
blew fiercely and flung the snow- 
flakes which were falling rapidly 
with spiteful force against the girl, 
until her heavy garments were 
soon hidden by a soft covering of 
white. But not even the fleecy 
crystals of snow had power to 
change the hue of the ebony face, 
and Miss Myra, who was a sensitive 
young woman, could not but feel 
a sensation of disgust as she 
thought, "I must look blacker than 
ever by contrast." 

On down the street she walked 
rapidly; here and there she paused 
long enough at some house to leave 
an invitation for the cook or coach- 
man to attend her Thanksgiving 
party; but at the end of two hours 
this part of her preparation was 
ended. 

It was time, then, she decided, to 
turn her attention to further de- 
tails of her audacious plan; and 
retracing her steps she soon 
found herself at banker Holmes' 
door. Here she entered, and for a 

10 



lap to Date* 

long time busied herself with nec- 
essary preparations for the mor- 
row's festivities. As twilight fell, 
she closed the house once more 
and walked rapidly homeward. 
That she had not been idle, the 
next night's feast would show. 



Any one passing by Jim Heck's 
tumbled-down cottage Thanksgiv- 
ing night would have been aston- 
ished at the number of gleaming 
lights flashing out upon the snow 
through the cracked and grimy 
window-panes, and would have 
stopped for a moment to listen to 
the sounds of revelry within 
doors. A fiddle squeaked in a 
lively, even if discordant fashion, 
while a banjo made frantic efforts 
to keep it company. There w^as a 
sound, too, as if of many feet 
dancing an old-fashioned break- 
down, which made the shanty 
fairly tremble under the unwonted 
strain upon its frail supports. 

The aroma of hot coffee also 
floated out upon the crisp air, 
mingled with an odor of more 
substantial viands, which appealed 
strongly to the imagination of a 
passing tramp who had paused to 
look through a window void of 
shade or curtain. 

11 



Suddenly the dance ended; the 
music ceased with one last un- 
earthly squeak, and for the space 
of a single moment almost perfect 
silence reigned, and then it seemed 
as though just previously a cy- 
clone of noise had been running 
riot. 

At this juncture from the door- 
way of the combined dining-room 
and kitchen the host himself an- 
nounced in his most gracious 
manner, ** Supper am suhved, la- 
dies and gemmin; choose youah 
pardners and walk out!" 

With one hand he pulled down 
the draperies which had been im- 
provised for the occasion, and 
which had so far kept the glories 
of the feast hidden from view; 
whilst with the other he politely 
motioned his guests to cross the 
hospitable threshold. Forasecond 
nobody stirred; a bashfulness as 
sudden as it was unusual seemed 
to have seized old and young 
alike. Then a tall mulatto took 
his late "partner" by the arm and 
made a hasty exit into the supper 
room. This was the signal for a 
general stampede for seats; but 
when the full glories of the scene 
impressed themselves upon the 
senses of the bewildered guests, 
each and all stood as if rooted to 

12 



lap to 2>ate. 

the spot, staring with eyes and 
mouth wide open at the unex- 
pected grandeur. 

At the head of the table stood 
Miss Myra herself. But such a 
Miss Myra! Accustomed to see 
her always in the latest style, they 
had, ** up to date," never beheld 
her attired like this. 

Solomon in all his glory, the 
lilies of the field in their beauty, 
were as nothing compared to 
her! 

She wore a trained robe of 
richest ivory satin, elaborately 
trimmed with point lace; the 
dusky neck and arms shone like 
polished ebony against the glim- 
mering sheen of the satin. 

She stood perfectly silent for a 
moment, her head uplifted, and 
with a haughty smile upon her 
lips, did her utmost to impress 
these humble admirers with this 
transitory grandeur. 

"Yes, it jis' is indeed Mis 
Holmes' weddin' dress, nuffin' 
else, you simpletons," she said 
calmly, as if announcing the most 
commonplace fact. "An' dis yeah 
is her linen, and dat's her coffee; 
and it's her silber, too," she added 
calmly, as she moved her hands 
here and there, pointing out the 
objects which she named. " But 

13 



dat is nobody's business but mine; 
you uns has nuffin' to do but en- 
joy de good things Tse provided. 
Sit down, goosies, and let der 
feast proceed," she commanded 
in an imperious manner, and set 
the example by seating herself 
— with due regard for her long- 
trained gown — at the head of the 
table. 

This proceeding elicited tumult- 
uous applause, and from that mo- 
ment until the gray dawn began 
to lighten the east, the fun was 
fast and furious. 

Of all races in the v/orld 
none can equal the African in its 
abandon of enjoyment. From the 
far-off homes of their ancestors, 
where the tropical sun forces 
vegetation into luxuriance and 
raises the blood to well-nigh fever 
heat, the negroes of the South 
have derived the power to live in 
and for the present only. "Fool- 
ish!" you say? Well, probably. 
Yet, after all, how much of human 
wretchedness results from either 
idle regrets for an unalterable 
past, or causeless care for an un- 
discoverable future? Be this as 
it may, at Miss Myra's Thanks- 
giving party shouts of laughter, 
bursts of negro melody, the shuf- 
fling of feet, all these sounds be- 

14 



TUp to 2)atc» 

came more and more tumultuous 
as the night waned. 

In the early morning dusky- 
forms might have been seen en- 
tering many a back or side door 
in Rexville, and many a mistress 
complained that day of inatten- 
tion to duty; but the darkies 
never told the secret of their all- 
night festivities. 

For many and many a day the 
glories of Miss Heck's Thanksgiv- 
ing party lingered in the minds 
and on the tongues of the favored 
guests. 

Upon the return of the banker's 
wife, that worthy lady found all 
her belongings in the same condi- 
tion, apparently, as when she left 
home. Miss Myra was shrewd 
enough to skillfully effect this 
result, and if ever her conscience 
troubled her in reference to her 
late " grand ball," she always 
quieted its qualms by saying: 
"What Mis Holmes don't know 
ain't gwine ter hurt her none ! 
'Tain't right ter be selfish in dis 
wurld noway! If der Lawd don't 
make no ekal division of things, 
why I'll jes have ter help, an' dat's 
all ther is about hit!" 

* ■'t' Tf* y^ yF ^ 

It must have been at least a 
year after the occurrence before 

15 



XLops^ up to Bate. 

the banker's wife learned of the 
party at which her possessions 
had played so very conspicuous 
and magnificent a part; and by 
this time Miss Heck had left her 
employ, being maid of all work 
at the parsonage, and hence be- 
yond all need of censure from 
outsiders, since it was perfectly 
evident that her reverend em- 
ployer was trying to convert this 
Topsy (up to date) from the error 
of her ways and to pluck one 
more brand from the burning, 
adding yet another jewel to his 
anticipated dazzlingly brilliant 
crown. 

But at last accounts the worthy 
man's efforts had not met with 
that measure of success which 
usually have crowned his minis- 
trations. Miss Heck appears to 
be a rather difficult "subject." 

Topsy yet reigns over all the 
mistresses of Rexville, and conde- 
scends to work for them all in 
turn. 

Her impartiality is sublime ! 

EvANSTON, November, 1895. 



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